


Princess Bow, Bouquets, and Ink

by mayhem_milo



Category: Sally Face (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop & Tattoo Parlor, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Flowers, M/M, Mr. Phelps is dead au, Multi, Tattoos, ash im sorry, it reads vaguely as sallarry but its not, megan is larry's daughter bc why the hell not au, nockfell is louisiana au, southern nockfell, travis is hispanic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-27
Updated: 2020-02-27
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:00:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22920646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mayhem_milo/pseuds/mayhem_milo
Summary: Single father Larry Johnson moves halfway across the country from New Jersey to Nockfell, Louisiana with his best friend and six year old daughter. Life comes easy, but moving on is hard, especially when the hot headed flower boy next door likes to pick fights.
Relationships: Ashley Campbell/Larry Johnson, Larry Johnson/Travis Phelps
Comments: 6
Kudos: 20





	Princess Bow, Bouquets, and Ink

Nockfell was a pretty small nowhere town. Perfect for a washed up punk of a tattoo artist and his princessly purple daughter to set up a homestead. It didn't take long for him to find the perfect shop spot in the heart of downtown, and soon after he found a three bedroom two story house in a quiet neighborhood.

It took a month to pack up the house, notify his daughter's school and have her paperwork transferred to Nockfell elementary. It felt so surreal turning in the keys to the realtor. Next thing he knew he was sitting in a U-Haul with his best friend and his daughter crossing the New Jersey state line for the last time.

He was leaving the state the same way he came into it; abruptly. A little over a decade ago Larry rolled into town in a beat up clunker of a Dodge pickup with everything he owned in one duffel bag. He met Sal at a local show, then later found out they lived in the same apartment building. He couldn't think of anyone better to move halfway across the country with.

It was a long drive, twenty-one hours and twenty-three minutes to be exact. But finally, they arrived in Nockfell, Louisiana; about an hour from New Orleans. Exhausted, Sal and Larry unloaded boxes only to get to one of the mattresses.

They laid it out in their new living room, laid Megan on it and then they both promptly passed out with the little girl between them. After a solid twelve hour nap, it was time to unpack.

Unloading the U-Haul was easy. The next step was letting everyone pick their own rooms. The men let Megan pick first. Larry was sure she'd pick the master bedroom but she liked the second largest room on the first floor. It had a giant bag window looking out into the back yard. Sal and Larry bickered about who should take the master bedroom. Larry insisted Sal had more use for the bigger room and wouldn't have to share a bathroom with Megan.

And Sal argued that the other should have it because he had more stuff and it would mean more room when Megan had nightmares. Larry gave in, Sal's room wasn't much smaller than the other two rooms, which the brunette checked with a tape measure. After rooms were picked, they took a trip to the nearest Lowe's to paint their new rooms.

Megan wanted purple with a chalkboard wall, and whatever Megan wanted, Larry was going to do his damnedest to provide. Sal and Larry also enjoyed the idea of chalkboard walls for their rooms. Sal also chose a soft pink, like the removable piece on his mask. Larry almost teased him about it but saw how happy his friend was when he saw the exact color. Larry only purchased chalkboard paint for one of his walls. He had plenty of ideas of how he was going to paint the rest and plenty of paint to do it. 

Painting put off a lot of unpacking. Megan attended her first day of school with paint covered hands because she insisted on waking up early to paint more. Larry and Sal were able to walk Megan from the car to the entrance of the school before her new teacher took over.

"You know it was kind of a dick move to move in the middle of the school year, right?" Sal commented as they walked back to the car.

Larry shook his head with a chuckle," oh no, she's told me. Several times." 

He looked back over his shoulder. He felt a little guilty of upending Megan's whole world and moving her to somewhere she's never heard of. But New Jersey was hurting them more than helping them. Megan had shown a mixture of emotions furring the move. At first she was excited, and when she learned she would be going to a new school she cried for at least two hours about leaving her friends. And when she found out Uncle Sal was coming with she cheered back up, but it's been up and down ever since.

"She'll be alright, my kid's one tough cookie. And she knows I'll always be there to talk." Larry elbowed his friend," let's just focus on work for now."

"Good idea." Sal agreed.

The work in question was getting the shop ready for opening. Just a few things here and there to finish up before the grand opening, which they didn't expect to be a huge turnout.

The shop neighbors were nice enough. An older couple ran the antique store on their right and to the left a nice flower shop that was always busy. Larry had yet to meet the flower shop keep, but wasn't too bothered by it. One day he walked by with Megan after school and merely glanced inside the big front window.

A lone man sat at the counter, mindlessly fiddling with an arrangement. His blonde hair swept behind tucked under a bandanna to keep it out of his face. But that's all Larry saw, quickly distracted by his daughter who ran ahead into the shop the minute she saw Gizmo in the window of the tattoo parlor.

The brunette followed Megan inside and once more he was comforted by the sight of his best friend working hard putting up the last of the hanging decorations.

\----

Larry was fast but Megan was faster. He ran after her down the sidewalk towards the shop. It was just a day before the grand opening, Megan insisted the tattoo parlor open on a day she didn't have school. Wanting his daughter to experience it, Larry and Sal agreed the opening day would be a Saturday. 

"Meg, slow down!" Larry called after her, but he knew she was eager to get somewhere.

She was almost there, just a few more strides and she'd be in the shop with Sal and Gizmo. Larry kept up his pace, trying to catch up. Seeing such a scary looking man in Nockfell wasn't common, if Megan wasn't laughing and calling back over her shoulder for her dad to keep up, someone might've stepped in soon.

Megan passed in front of the florist and harshly stopped. The blonde Larry had only seen in passing, was gripping the handle of his broom in a defensive position. Larry nearly ran right into it. 

He took a step back," hey what the hell man?"

"Do you know this man, child?" Asked the stranger, looking Larry up and down.

"I'm her father, jackass." The brunette frowned."I walk by here everyday with her."

The man didn't seem to believe him, Megan hardly looked like him. Larry could see where the confusion came from, but the extent this man was going to was a bit asinine. 

"Seriously, I know she doesn't look like me, but that's my kid!" Larry rolled up his sleeve and pointed to the tattoo of Megan's foot prints with her name on his forearm." Like I'd go this far to lie about her being mine."

Larry looked over the blonde's shoulder to see Sal coming out of the shop to see what was going on." What's going on, Larry?"

"Megan, go to Uncle Sal." 

The florist turned towards Sal and then looked back at Larry." Is she really his daughter?"

"Looks like her mother, but she's 100% Larry's mini-me." Sal confirmed.

"Thanks, Sal. Take her inside, I got this." Larry nodded, letting the two go into the store." Can I please go join my daughter now, Mr….?" He looked up to the sign  _ Sophía's Flowers. _ "Sophía?"

"It's Travis. Sophía is my mother."

"Larry." And they parted ways. Larry was a little irked that a stranger was so willing to… do whatever it was he was going to do with a broom to keep him away from Megan. But it's not like it's the first time it's happened. Now inside his own store, he went right back to work.

Megan sat behind the reception desk to do her homework with Gizmo in her lap. While he and Sal put together some IKEA level bullshit of a display case for plugs and piercings. Setting up for tomorrow's opening took just a little longer than expected. Sal volunteered to take Megan and Gizmo home before it got too dark out while Larry stayed to get everything right.

"Behave for Uncle Sal, kiddo. I'll be home before bedtime." Larry said, giving his kid a hug.

Megan smiled,"Pinkie promise?" She asked, holding up her hand to initiate said promise.

Larry wrapped his little finger around her's and nodded," I promise. Cross my heart."

"Metal." She responded, satisfied. He stood up and gave Sal a fist bump.

"Don't forget, you're on story duty tonight." Sal told him.

"I won't." Larry nodded. He watched them for a moment as they walked away. He was grateful for his best friend. 

Sal sacrificed a great deal of his time to help raise Megan and took the role of godfather very seriously. Being a single dad wasn't easy, but with Sal there it made life a little more bearable. From the minute the blue haired man held Megan he was wrapped around her little finger, much like her father, who would give the world for that little girl.

As he leaned on the entrance to his new shop and reminisced, he watched his daughter and best friend disappear in the distance. He wanted to just say fuck it and go home, but he wanted everything to be ready for tomorrow. For Megan, for his best friend, for himself. He was just about to head back inside when he saw Travis once again, locking up his shop.

"Finally headed home?" Larry asked. 

Travis nodded quietly, adjusting his bag on his shoulder.

"Hey, uh… my parlor's opening tomorrow. Maybe you could come by?" He suggested. No reason to keep a one-sided beef over a misunderstanding." I'll give you the friends and family discount for a piece."

The blonde stopped in his tracks, looking to the other," I don't do tattoos. Religious reasons."

"That's cool, I respect that." He nodded." I still invite you to stop by, I think my kid would get a kick out of it."

"I'll think about it." Travis says before giving him a little wave and walking away to the alleyway. A moment later a car left the alley as Larry went back inside his store. 

\---

"WAKE UP, PUNK!" She shouted, using her full weight to flop down on her father's back.

Larry grunted, rolling over," Christ, Megan. Getting too big to stomp dad like that."

She laughed as Larry sat up causing her to Tumblr into his lap. She looked up at him with those emerald green eyes, all too much like her mother. In the sweetest voice she asked," Daddy, can you do my hair for today?"

Larry sighed, he may be grumpy when he wakes up but he could never stay mad at his daughter." Sure. Is your Uncle up yet?"

"Yeah! Breakfast's almost ready. He told me to get you up." She nodded.

"Good, go get your dad a cup of coffee. Pretty please, my little punk rock princess." Larry gave her a kiss on the cheek." Then I'll do your hair."

"I'm on it!" Megan beamed and took off running back downstairs.

He took a deep breath pulling himself to the edge of the bed. It felt like a two cup of coffee kind of day. Maybe three. He looked to the ceiling and shook his head," we're gonna make you proud today."

It was only a few moments before Megan came back, concentrating on not spilling the mug she was carrying. She made it back to Larry with very little spills, an improvement from last time she brought him coffee in New Jersey.

"So what are we thinking, kid?" He reaches over to the nightstand and grabs a hair brush. He kept it there out of habit. Something his wife used to do. 

She looked up at him," can you do my hair like mommy's?"

"Well, princess, mommy had a lot of different hairstyles, which one do you want?" 

"Like this." She produced a small Polaroid from what was seemingly nowhere. 

There she was. Perfectly fit next to Larry in the grass. Beautiful green eyes, long brown hair with fringed bangs. Her hand cupped Larry's face, she was looking right at the camera, but Larry… Larry was looking at her. 

"Where did you find this?" He asked, gently taking the Polaroid from her.

"It was in a book… with mom's stuff." The purple haired girl admitted.

Larry just shook his head with a smile," always getting into things. But… I think Mom would want you to have this. So hold onto it." He handed the picture back to her."now let's wrangle this rat's nest."

Between Sal's hair, his wife's hair, and his own, Larry had become an excellent braider. The Polaroid pictured his wife with a low hanging braid that swept over her shoulder with her perfectly messy bangs. Larry copied it as best he could and of course Megan thought she looked just like her mom. She ran off back to her room to get dressed, leaving Larry to himself with his now lukewarm coffee.

Everyone ran about getting ready. Sal was probably the first to get ready, the rest of his time was spent wrangling Gizmo into his harness. Gizmo didn't mind his harness, in fact he liked it quite a bit,it was just getting him to stay still was a bit hard because the calico got excited when he saw his owner with the leash. Megan was next, she had her bag full of things to entertain her if she got bored. 

Larry finally emerged from the top of the stairs. He looked his normal hot mess self. Messy hair pulled back into a low bun with fly always he couldn't be bothered with. An old Rutgers University hoodie thrown over his frame. He didn't even go to Rutgers, he found it in a Goodwill. 

"Come on man, we're gonna be late!" Sal said opening the front door.

"Every great musician is fashionably late." Larry boasted, swinging his keys on his wrist lanyard. 

"You're not a musician, you're a tattoo artist. Now let's go." Sal teased as they filed out the door.

**Author's Note:**

> I've been fiddling with this since October of 2019 and I'm so happy to finally share it with y'all! This is a lot of AUs rolled into one so I hope I don't get too OOC.


End file.
